Public Engagement Programs

Public Engagement Programs

The Whiting Public Engagement Programs, including the Public Engagement Fellowship and the Public Engagement Seed Grant, are designed to celebrate and empower humanities faculty who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. The programs fund ambitious, often collaborative projects to infuse into public life the richness, profundity, and nuance that give the humanities their lasting value. Over time, we hope the program will also build a community of faculty dedicated to this form of service; underscore just how essential the realm of ideas is in helping us absorb the news of the day, participate as citizens, and live a full life; and ultimately help to restore broader faith in the value of advanced work in the humanities.

These two programs are entirely separate: aspiring fellows need not have received a Seed Grant, and receiving a Seed Grant does not automatically qualify a grantee for a future Fellowship. Both programs support ambitious projects infusing into public life the richness, profundity, and nuance that give the humanities their lasting value. The stage of a project will determine the relevant program.

About the Public Engagement Fellowship

The Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship of $50,000 is for public-facing projects far enough along in development or execution that the nominee can present compelling, specific evidence that they will successfully engage the intended public. For the strongest Fellowship proposals, both the overall strategy and the practical plan to implement the project will be deeply developed, relationships with key collaborators will be in place, and initial connections with the intended public will have been cultivated. In some cases, the nominee and collaborators may already have tested the idea in a pilot, or the project itself may already be underway.

About the Public Engagement Seed Grant

The Whiting Public Engagement Seed Grant of up to $10,000 supports projects at a somewhat earlier stage of development than the Fellowship, before the nominee has been able to establish a specific track record of success for the proposed public-facing work. It is not, however, designed for projects starting entirely from scratch: nominees should have fleshed out a compelling vision, including a clear sense of whose collaboration will be required and the ultimate scope and outcomes. They should also have articulated specific short-term next steps required to advance the project and understand the resources required to complete them.

The call for nominations from invited schools and societies for the 2019-20 cycle is now live

The guidelines for the 2019-20 cycle are available online here. Please note that these programs are currently open only to candidates who have been nominated by one of our partner schools or societies. We hope to be able to accept a wider pool of applications in future cycles.

First-round applications from nominees are due through the online portal by June 15, 2018.